CLINICAL WORK

BECOMING A CLIENT

Below is information about both what you need to know and do if you are interested in seeing Dr. Lack privately as a client, as well as general guidance towards choosing the best therapist for yourself.

Clinical Interests & Training

Dr. Lack is a clinical psychologist currently licensed to practice in the state of Oklahoma (HSP #1143) and previously in Arkansas (#07-37P). He received his training in the APA-approved clinical psychology doctoral program at Oklahoma State University and completed his predoctoral internship at the University of Florida.

Dr. Lack's primary clinical interest is in the application of evidence-based cognitive and behavioral methods to the treatment of severe anxiety and obsessive-compulsive and related disorders across the life span, such as social anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, phobias, Tourette's Disorder or chronic tics, and trichotillomania. Methods used include exposure with response prevention, cognitive restructuring, behavioral activation, habit reversal training, and other well-studied and effective methods.

In addition, Dr. Lack is also interested in the assessment of psychological, learning, and developmental difficulties in children and adults. He has also consulted for a number of state, national, and legal agencies regarding psychological issues, including dementia level and impairment status, disability status, and providing expert witness.

Dr. Lack sees a small number of private clients, primarily those with OCD or Tourette's Disorder. Due to this, he cannot bill insurance for his clients, but is able to provide forms for you to turn into your insurance company. Dr. Lack charges a flat per-hour fee that is due upon receipt of service. He performs both office-based and home-based therapy, but does charge a mileage fee for seeing people outside of Edmond. He also supervises graduate students performing therapy in the UCO Psychology Clinic. If you would like to contact Dr. Lack about being seen for therapy or for a consultation, please click the "Contact" link at the top of this page.

What is evidence-based practice?

Dr. Lack uses scientifically proven treatment and assessment methods, based on 60 years of evidence from basic and applied research, which shows that these methods work. Having been extensively trained in both the science and practice of psychology, Dr. Lack is familiar with the most reliable methods to treat a wide range of mental, behavioral, emotional, and physical problems. Via his teaching and supplementary training, he strives to keep up to date on the latest developments in the field so that clients are provided with the most effective services possible.

To learn more about evidence-based practice and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, the specific type of therapy used by Dr. Lack, please visit the following websites:

The best advice that Dr. Lack can give anyone when choosing a mental health professional is to see someone who practices evidence-based psychology. Stated simply, evidence-based psychology (EBP) is a guiding principle that means a therapist, whether that person is a psychologist, counselor, social worker, or psychiatrist, is guided in the treatment and assessment methods they use by the current best practices as defined by scientific evidence. Unfortunately, many therapists have not been trained in these methods, and instead rely on intuition, what they think has worked well, or what they were trained in - regardless of the evidence or lack thereof for its effectiveness. Asking a potential therapist what their primary therapeutic orientation is, and how they know the type of therapy they do works, are a great way to find out if a therapist uses EBP.

The second piece of advice is that you need to be sure that your therapist does not attempt to push their own personal values system onto you. While this is both an unethical and inappropriate thing to do, from his own experience with clients Dr. Lack can tell you that a large number of them report this happening. While this does not mean that you need to find a therapist with your exact religious, political, ethnic, and cultural background, it does mean that your therapist needs to respect what your beliefs and values are and recognize that their job as a therapist is not to convert you. If you find yourself in a situation where this is occurring, he would recommend giving the therapist a warning that you are becoming offended by their actions. If they continued to push their own agenda at the expense of your mental health, a report to the state licensing board would be appropriate.

CLINICIAN RESOURCES

As a psychologist, a scientist, and a professor, Dr. Lack has a deep concern that mental health practitioners use the current best evidence to guide the services they provide their clients. To that end, he has compiled (and will continue adding to) the below links. Included below are treatment manuals, workbooks, self-guided treatment options, and more. If you are aware of something that should be on this list, please contact him and he will include it if appropriate.

CBT Competencies - an overiew of the general and specific competencies needed by well-trained CBT clinicians; useful for conducting a self-study to determine which areas you need more training in

Child & Adolescent CBT Workshops - a collection of video trainings for doing evidence-based work with youth who are depressed, anxious, self-harming, and more. Also includes references for treatment manuals for each problem

Effective Child Therapy Online Education - produced by the APA's Division 53 (Society of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology), this site contains both parent education information and training videos for professionals on EBPP for working with youth

Research Supported Psychological Treatments - put together by APA's Division 12 (Society for Clinical Psychology), this site provides lists of what therapies have been found to be effacious for specific problems, along with some training links

CBT Treatment Manuals - from the Centre for Clinical Interventions, this website contains complete therapist manuals for several disorders, as well as links to self-guided CBT treatments

MoodJuice Professional - contains numerous CBT-based self-help guides for common disorders that professionals can use as well

Dr. Lack is the director of the STP as well as a member. Although it was designed to help connect non-religious clients with secular therapists, all of the clinicians in the database are carefully vetted to ensure that they are using evidence-based methods and, as such, are a great resource.